SAN JOSE — Evan Bouchard, Travis Dermott, Josh Brown…
The interesting aspect of the Edmonton Oilers` defensive lineup under assistant coach Paul Coffey is the constant change in defensive pairings throughout the season. In a single game, a defenseman might play alongside two or three different partners, depending on various factors like game situation, injuries, or Coffey`s tactical adjustments.
Darnell Nurse, Cam Dineen, John Klingberg…
The Oilers had one consistent pair – Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard – who played together for nearly 1,000 minutes at five-on-five. The next most frequent pairing, Brett Kulak and Ty Emberson, logged 574 minutes. No other defensive duo reached 500 minutes of even-strength ice time together.
Mattias Ekholm, Jake Walman, Troy Stecher, Ty Emberson…
By the 82nd game of the season, the Oilers started with only five defensemen, two of whom had spent the majority of the season in the AHL with Bakersfield. In that game, they humorously avoided taping their names to the front of their helmets, unlike in youth hockey.
And all the defensemen mentioned have, at some point, been paired with Brett Kulak, the dependable player on the team`s blue line.
“It’s been our approach for most of the season, so it’s good that we`re not facing unexpected challenges now,” Kulak mentioned, on a practice day where the Oilers had eight defensemen present, with Ekholm injured at home and Stecher on the trip but absent from practice.
“We anticipate players returning and we’ll adapt accordingly. But for now, we`re maintaining our course, business as usual, similar to how it`s been for the past month or six weeks.”
The most recent player to return from injury was Walman, joining a Good Friday practice at the San Jose Barracudas arena. The Oilers chose to practice there for a couple of days instead of traveling to Los Angeles and practicing at the Kings` facility, their first-round playoff opponents.
In the same practice that Walman returned, Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman also resumed their usual positions in the Oilers` top six forwards, just before the series opener on Monday.
It appears the injured players are recovering just in time for the playoffs.
“I don’t think we seemed too injured on the ice today,” Hyman said. “We are in good shape, although we are missing a key defenseman (Ekholm). However, everyone needs to step up and contribute.”
With the offensive talent in the Oilers` lineup, scoring is rarely a concern. However, playoff hockey emphasizes defensive solidity.
This focus intensifies scrutiny on routine breakout plays. A misplaced pass or missed assignment in the playoffs draws significantly more attention than during the regular season.
For this team, and any team, the goal is to minimize defensive play.
The strategy is to get the puck to Connor McDavid or Draisaitl and let the opposing defensive coach worry. The game revolves around puck retrievals, quick first passes, and defensive awareness when without the puck.
As for building partner familiarity, that will develop as the playoff series progresses.
Tristan Blackwood